>One of my biggest challenges right now is that the kids work at such different paces. >Some kids will whip through a project and finish it very quickly and DO NOT want to work >on it anymore and other kids will work SO slow.
Marcia,
One thing I have found useful here is rubrics. They get them at the start of the project and know what I'm looking for in order to get a the best grade. We have only Pass--with distinction, Pass--good job, Pass--needs improvement, and Fail for middle school art grades. I've developed rubrics that score to these standards:
Exceptional=3=Pass-with distinction, High=2=Pass-good job, Moderate=1=Pass-needs improvement, Low=anything less than 1=Fail.
When a kid finishes early, I talk with them about the quality of their work, about the difference between a 1, 2 or 3. I'll ask them what they are hoping to achieve. If they want a 3 we'll discuss what they'd need to do to get a 3. I've been really surprised how many kids go back and do more for the 3! (Sometimes I pantomime pushing motions--always lovingly & with a smile.)

>The kids that finish early just want to talk to their friends and not do anything else.
A while back there was conversation around this issue. We are 2 days from the last class, and kids are in various stages of finish, so I'm hearing this, too. In preparation--just today (!)--I copied and hung Marty Reid's "What should I do now?" list of "drawing draw" activities. I was dubious, but the kids were excited about it and did things from the list.
You can get the list from the archives--try "finished early"--or I can e-mail it to you privately. It's four+ pages and might be better retrieved from the archives. Look for something from Judy Decker, I believe, who compiled ideas.
http://lists.getty.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=artsednet&text_mode=0
and also maybe this one
http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/Talk/index.html
Also, tell them that talking is ok, but not doing art is not acceptable. Use detention to make you point if need be.
Good luck,
Trish